Echo Volume 2: The Taste of Ashes By Kent Wayne Review!

 

Echo Volume 2: The Taste of Ashes (2016) by Kent Wayne is the second installment in the Echo trilogy. It is a slightly more introspective book with more focus given to the action but is just as intriguing as the first outing.

Now first thing’s first, you will need to have read the first book in the trilogy before this one to understand what is happening in this book so that’s definitely something I’d recommend because otherwise you might be lost. Our protagonist Atriya continues his introspective, spiritual journey as he heads into the Wastes which is a dangerous area where murderers, rapists, gangs and cannibals are lurking around. The book is very detailed and gives the reader a real sense of what war must be like. It’s a very visual book.

One of the scenes which sticks with me is the murder of the homeless man near the beginning of the book. It’s very horrifying and shows the dangers of been in the wrong place at the wrong time. The book very much shows the good and evil in society throughout in a very real way. The reader also gets a great inside into Atrya’s mind through his introspection and all the conflicts he faces in the various situations he finds himself in.

The entire book is set in one day. From a writer’s perspective, I have to say that it shows remarkable talent to be able to fill so much detail and scenes into just 24 hours. Kent does an excellent job of that in this book. The writing has a great sense of cohesiveness. This book is very gritty and violent and it shows how fragile life is and how to some people other peoples’ lives aren’t worth much. And this is one of the many things that cause Atriya so much conflict in his head. From someone who has never been to war, and has no plans to go, it gives you a sense of what it must be like from afar and instills in the reader even more admiration for the people who do go to war in real-life because there’s a lot of braveness in that even if one’s a pacifist.

Yet again, another stunningly crafted book. Lots of action and yet lots of drama and human aspects too. Loved it and looking forward to book 3!

To purchase Echo Volume 2: The Taste of Ashes by Kent Wayne go to:

To read my review on Echo Volume 1: Approaching Shatter and get details on where to purchase it go to:

https://culturevultureexpress.wordpress.com/2017/11/23/echo-volume-1-approaching-shatter-by-kent-wayne-review/

And for more information on Kent Wayne’s work go to:

https://dirtyscifibuddha.com/

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Echo Volume 1: Approaching Shatter By Kent Wayne Review!

 

 

Echo Volume 1: Approaching Shatter by Kent Wayne (2015) is a wonderful and gripping read with excellent descriptive detail. Set in the latter part of the 21st century, humans have left Earth and are now residing on a planet called Echo. 1200 years pass and the citizens living on Echo are being suppressed by society while the authority called the Regime rules over them. A large rebel group called the Dissidents are a source of concern for the police and military. Amongst all the chaos we find the protagonist Atriya, a former enforcer, whose idealist nature is in contrast with the oppression surrounding him.

It is a very action packed novel with detailed observation by the central character. As I read, I was reminded of Tom Rob Smith’s writing. Wayne has that same attention to detail which easily paints a picture of the various locations and characters in your mind as well as making a lot of information a reader needs to know accessible and easy to follow. There’s a lot of fictional military rank structures and Wayne makes it very easy to follow even for readers like me who wouldn’t have clue about how structures of rank work. The story also has an underlying social commentary element to it. You can’t help seeing similarities to our own world with those above and below the law but done in a fictional sci-fi way. It speaks about inequality, power struggles and oppression in society and how people often turn a blind eye to it to advance even though they can see the world is in a state of decay. It also represents in parts how people get socially-conditioned to a certain way of life and can’t understand when people bring up change or progress. Wayne also wonderfully captures the inner turmoil and confusion many people feel about this resistance to change structures and attitudes through the central character and I could definitely relate to that. But my favorite character and the character I identified with the most was Verus. She’s just this ordinary woman but really gutsy and seems to go for what she wants as opposed to what she thinks society wants for her and I hope to see her more in later books of the series.

A very interesting author biography is also included with the story as are the first three chapters of book 2 in the series which looks really good.

All in all, a brilliant read which leaves the reader wanting to see how Atriya’s journey continues and the story progresses in the follow-up novels.

To purchase Echo Volume 1: Approaching Shatter by Kent Wayne go to:

And for more information on Kent Wayne’s work go to:

https://dirtyscifibuddha.com/